By Miles Baker and Owen K. Craig
Posted October 30th, 2007
Each week we use random.org’s random integer generator to create two random numbers. They then count down on the release list until they find out their RANDOM COMIC OF THE WEEK! No matter what the publisher, what the issue, what the arc, we will be there reviewing things with little or no context.
Miles’ Book
She-Hulk #22
Written by Peter David
Penciled by Shawn Moll
Inked by Victor Olazaba
Marvel Comics, 2007.
People don’t believe you when you say that She-Hulk is a cool character. I didn’t believe my friends when they told me that Dan Slott’s relaunch of She She-Hulk was one of the best comics they had ever read. But I rolled my eyes, sighed a deep sigh, set aside my belief that the name was dorky, and decided to give the benefit of the doubt: and it was magical. Slott molded Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She-Hulk, into a funny but vulnerable character who had wonderfully absurd adventures grounded in an interesting supporting cast. And now, after Slott pan-fried She-Hulk in a heaping cup of Marvel continuity, Peter David is taking a whirl at the character.
He’s doing a good job here letting people get comfortable with the character. Jennifer’s life has been pretty complicated from what I’ve picked up around the water cooler (reading blogs and trolling message boards), but David embraces the past, giving curt nods to it, while establishing a new status quo. Only in the comics would it make sense for a lawyer to change careers and become a bounty hunter, but does. It does make sense. She’s trying to be a super hero while trying to work in the law system: it’s what she’s always done, it’s perfect for Jennifer.
David captures her voice nicely, with a nice mix of humour and competence. The art chores are well handled, but don’t live up to some of the previous artists that have been on the book. I don’t want to give away any major plot points, but I will say that there are some neat twists that make me want to come back for more adventures of the Jade Giantess
Yeah, the name still sounds dorky.
Owen’s Book
Blue Beetle #20
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque
DC Comics, 2007
All comics fans have books like this one: the book we really like, but for some reason don’t pick up every month. Blue Beetle is my favourite book that I’m not buying. Here and there I pick up an issue and quite enjoy it, but for some reason I don’t end up adding it to my pull list. So when this issue was picked as my “Random Book of the Week” I was excited. A book I love crossing over with an event I love? I was ready for awesomeness. Then something went wrong.
I was confused, why wasn’t I loving this? I’ve thought about it, and the best I can figure out is that the book isn’t remotely accessible, which is a tremendous shame. Here we have an excellent, but under read, comic crossing over with a popular event. This (in theory) provides Blue Beetle with a lot of new readers, so to make the book as complicated and reliant on previous plot points and characters seems like a missed opportunity to me. If the most I — a reader of at least a few issues of the series — can only get “some guy (that the Blue Beetle knew?) is consumed by a Sinestro Corps ring and a scarab (there’s more than one?) and goes crazy and somehow is defeated,” I can’t imagine that people who don’t know anything about the series were doing much better. And if this wasn’t enough to make me, a somewhat casual fan of the series, start picking up the book on a regular basis, I can’t imagine it would be cause for a newcomer to do so.
It’s a shame.
